Marvel Confirms Its Venom 3 Director
Sony has tagged Kelley Marcel to direct Venom 3, with Tom Hardy returning in the lead role.
The next Venom movie starring Tom Hardy has found its director. According to Deadline, Venom 3 will be directed by Kelley Marcel, who previously wrote and produced the first two Venom movies for Sony Pictures and Marvel. Details regarding Venom 3 are being kept under wraps.
The report notes that Hardy and Marcel will produce Venom 3, with Marcel also writing the screenplay from a story by the two. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Ami Pascal, and Hutch Parker will also serve as producers. As noted, plot details about the upcoming third installment are unknown though fans have wondered if any characters from either the MCU or Sony’s Spiderverse will appear.
The first Venom movie was directed by Reuben Fleischer, who previously directed the comedy film Zombieland and later went on to helm the live-action Uncharted movie for Sony Pictures. Planet of the Apes actor Andy Serkis took on directing duties for the sequel, which featured Carnage and teased Venom’s appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s unclear whether Fleischer or Serkis will have any involvement in Venom 3.
According to Deadline, insiders say Hardy and Marcel have “been on the same page” when it comes to developing the story for Venom 3. The two reportedly “were in step with what direction” they wanted this latest chapter to head in. As noted by Deadline, Hardy announced earlier this year that Marcel was hard at work on the script.
Before helping to develop Sony Pictures’ Venom franchise, Marcel was best known for getting the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey off the ground. Marcel wrote the first installment, which went on to become a box-office success for Universal Pictures. Marcel also served as a co-executive producer on the Fox Network sci-fi series Terra Nova.
Producer Amy Pascal spoke with Collider days before the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home and confirmed that a Venom 3 was in development. Pascal, at the time, stated that the studio was “in the planning stages” and was focused on “getting everybody to come and see No Way Home.” Sony Pictures’ ad campaign for Spider-Man: No Way Home didn’t reveal the returns of Toby McGuire and Andrew Garfield as their respective Peter Parkers/Spider-Mans. The ad campaign also didn’t reveal anything about Tom Hardy’s Venom, who got sucked into the MCU during the post-credit scene of Venom: Let there Be Carnage.
Venom ultimately didn’t play too much of a role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Tom Hardy only appeared in the film’s post-credit scene and was presumably transported back into his own universe. Many fans have speculated if Venom 3 will reference Tom Hardy’s trip to the MCU or if they will completely ignore it.
Regardless, Venom 3 comes as Sony Pictures is trying to establish its own superhero universe sans Spider-Man. The studio has already launched Venom and Morbius, which was a box-office bomb and disliked by most critics. Sony Pictures also are in production of a Madame Web film starring Dakota Johnson in the title role. Finally, there is a Kraven the Hunter film starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who played Quicksilver in the MCU.
